Monthly Archives: March 2014

The countdown is on. Well, sort of. Two more weeks in the job and still a mountain of work being allocated. Such is the way of my new (old) manager. No garden leave here.

In any case, I’m still looking forward to leaving, even though resumes and online profiles are in various levels of non-completion. What I’m feeling is an overwhelming urge to procrastinate because I’d rather do those painful introspective things alone, during the day and without interruption. Which makes me think that my search for new work is behind by four weeks. Is that too much grace to ask?

The company’s new CEO addressed the office staff the other day. His appointment has taken half a year and once named, his background in turning around struggling companies was found and circulated. This was a fixer-upper CEO.

While looking like any other ordinary guy (middle-aged, white, paunchy and standard corporate styling) he spoke well, assuredly and with confidence. His spiel was about trust, doing the job well, focus and of course, cost management. It was all that you’d expect from a person with global experience in running big companies. They’re an interesting breed.

As a person who really doesn’t care about what happens next at this company, his talk just made me think about what I really want to pursue next and how I need to present myself. What do I want to be seen as (a fixer-upper? No.) and how do I ensure that I can deliver to that. A bit of work to do during the job search.

The first weekend after knowing and I’m relaxed. There is that monumental task (not really) of trying to find a new job but with the small largesse from a decade’s worth of service, the pressure isn’t so onerous right now. Times will change, I’m sure.

While all I really want to do is relax for a few months, I do feel that I have to make a show of looking for work. I did field a few calls from recruiters last week and since my online resume is quite sparse, I do need to work on that to at least receive the right offers. And trying to start that task is difficult. I can’t even recall when I changed job titles or even what I might have achieved in those roles. Really, I do need to document major work achievements a lot better.

So, I’m trying to remember stuff and my fear is really about coming across a little useless. I never really tried to work to achieve per se. I enjoyed the intellectual curiosity of work and not the seeming world-changing desires that reviews and a few peers seem to be fuelled by. It’s an interesting reflection and with a few senior people going to review my material (to provide constructive criticism, of course), there is equal parts procrastination, anxiety and fear pulling at me.